100 Pro-Abortion Storytelling Events Organized Across Country

On Monday, pro-abortion groups across the country launched an organized effort to feature women telling uplifting stories of their abortions. The so-called “1 in 3” week of action will feature 100 events in 32 states, and began in Washington D.C. According to the Advocates for Youth, one in three women in the United States will at some point have an abortion. Advocates from Washington D.C. who will lead off the event include Deb Hauser of the Advocates for Youth; Ilyse Hogue, NARAL Pro-Choice America; Andrea Gleaves, Women’s Information Network; and many more. The “1 in 3” organizers will also be handing out a book: 1 in 3: These Are Our Stories. Tellingly, organizers suggest that their goal is to keep abortion “safe, legal, and affordable” – a marked change from the old pro-choice slogan from the Clinton years, “safe, legal, and rare.” The organizers also want to “end the stigma” surrounding abortion.

Helping to end that stigma includes recruiting celebrities to be part of the “1 in 3” campaign. MTV star Katie Stack of 16 and Pregnant will be joining the campaign. Speaking with ThinkProgress, Stack said, “That experience with MTV really reinforced for me that it can be really powerful to provide these opportunities and to allow stories to heard — stories that are complex, and that don’t necessarily fit a pro-choice or pro-life narrative.”

The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor will host an event called an “abortion speak-out,” at which Stack will appear. “It’s very hard to talk about abortion without the negativity, without calling people murderers, without the judgment,” Stack explained. “The speak-out event is almost an experiment to see if it’s possible. Hopefully it is. I know Carly has taken a lot of steps to make it a safe space, but it’s really hard to authentically create a safe space to share these stories.”

Stack told ThinkProgress, “The fact of the matter is, no matter what anyone wants to debate about abortion and its morality, I feel that I made the right decision. And that’s threatening to people, the fact that I will say that.”